Book of Common Prayer
Thanksgiving to God
118 Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his gracious love is eternal.
2 Let Israel now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
5 I called on the Lord in my distress;
the Lord answered me openly.[a]
6 The Lord is with me.
I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
7 With the Lord beside me as my helper,
I will triumph over those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[b] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter[c] in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
11 They surrounded me, they are around me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
but they will be extinguished like[d] burning thorns.
In the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
13 Indeed, you[e] oppressed me so much that I nearly fell,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and protector,[f]
for he has become my deliverer.[g]
15 There’s exultation[h] for deliverance in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord is victorious![i]
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord is victorious!”[j]
17 I will not die, but I will live
to recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord will discipline me severely,
but he won’t hand me over to die.
19 Open for me the righteous gates
so I may enter through them to give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will praise you because you have answered me
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is from the Lord—
it is awesome in our sight.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please Lord, deliver us!
Please Lord, hurry[k] and bring success now!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let us bless you from the Lord’s house.
27 The Lord is God—he will be our light!
Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes
to the horn at the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his gracious love is eternal.
A Davidic Psalm[a]
Praising God for His Works
145 I will speak highly of you, my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 The Lord is great,
and to be praised highly,
though his greatness is indescribable.
4 One generation will acclaim your works to another
and will describe your mighty actions.
5 I[b] will speak about the glorious splendor of your majesty
as well as[c] your awesome actions.
6 People[d] will speak about the might of your great deeds,
and I will announce your greatness.
7 They will extol the fame of your abundant goodness,
and will sing out loud about your righteousness.
8 Gracious and merciful is the Lord,
slow to become angry,
and overflowing with gracious love.
9 The Lord is good to everyone
and his mercies extend to everything he does.
10 Lord, everything you have done will praise you,
and your holy ones will bless you.
11 They will speak about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will talk about your might,
12 in order to make known your mighty acts to mankind[e]
as well as the majestic splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your authority endures from one generation to another.
13b God[f] is faithful about everything he says
and merciful in everything he does.
14 The Lord supports everyone who falls
and raises up those who are bowed down.
15 Everyone’s eyes are on you,
as you give them their food in due time.
16 You[g] open your hand
and keep on satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all of his ways
and graciously loving in all of his activities.
18 The Lord remains near to all who call out to him,
to everyone who calls out to him sincerely.[h]
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
hearing their cry and saving them.
20 The Lord preserves everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy all of the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord,
and all creatures will bless his holy name forever and ever.
19 At that time,[a] there will be an altar to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies[b] in the heart of the land of Egypt, and a monument to the Lord[c] at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the Lord of the Heavenly Armies in the land of Egypt; when they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior, and he will come down[d] and rescue them. 21 So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will acknowledge the Lord.
At that time,[e] they will worship[f] with sacrifices and offerings, and they will make vows to the Lord and carry them out. 22 The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague, striking but then healing. Then they will turn to the Lord, and he will respond to their pleas and heal them.
23 At that time,[g] there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will come into Egypt, and the Egyptians into Assyria, and they[h] will worship with the Assyrians.
24 At that time,[i] Israel will be in a triple alliance[j] with Egypt and Assyria; they will be[k] a blessing in the midst of the earth. 25 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies has blessed them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”
5 Now may God, the source of endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other as you follow the Messiah[a] Jesus,[b] 6 so that with one mind and one voice you might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[c]
7 Therefore, accept one another, just as the Messiah[d] accepted you,[e] for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that the Messiah[f] became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth in order to confirm the promises given to our ancestors, 9 so that the gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
10 Again he says,[i]
“Rejoice, you gentiles, with his people!”[j]
11 And again,
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“There will be a Root[n] from Jesse.
He will rise up to rule the gentiles,
and the gentiles will hope in him.”[o]
13 Now may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Parable about the Coins
11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[a] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[b] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[c] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[d] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[e] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[f] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second servant[g] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[h] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then the other servant[i] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[j] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
24 “So the king[k] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[l] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
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